Astound Me
by VoHT
Summary: Nothing is more painful than knowing they mean everything to you, and you mean nothing to them. Or do you? One-Shot HollyFoaly


Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl. Stop reminding me! ;-;  
  
Astound Me  
  
"Foaly, if you screw this up, you're a dead man," one Holly Short called angrily into her mic. Currently, she was flying above Fowl Manor in a pair of the latest Hummingbird models...custom made. Foaly's design. If he screwed it up and she fell, she would die. Yelling. At one very smart centaur. Along with about five other fairies who didn't have a link with Foaly.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm right there with you, darlin'," he reassured her happily. Holly sighed.  
  
"Unless I fall, in which case you're all the way back at the operations office." She smiled as she imagined the centaur's pout.  
  
"I'm so unappreciated." The fairy rolled her hazel eyes.  
  
"Alright, I'm at Fowl Manor. Astound me, Foaly."  
  
"Can do, Miss Short!" Foaly leaned back in his chair, made slightly difficult by his lack of feet to prop up. "We- 'we' meaning 'I', of course- modified the iris cam. You don't have to wait for me to zoom in or anything for you anymore. You can command it yourself and it won't sting a bit."  
  
"But you're still getting the readings, right?"  
  
"Of course," Foaly sulked, having not impressed her at all.  
  
"Good. What else?" she asked.  
  
"Venom-tipped fingernails. Just in case. Not fatal, but it'll knock anything out for at least an hour. Low-tech, yes, but untraceable. No doubt Fowl still as some equiptment that'll trace fairy technology."  
  
"So that eliminates my Neutrino?" It was Holly's turn to sulk.  
  
"You got it, babe. But the sensor on your throat will help. No wings within 10 feet of the Manor, got it?" he asked seriously.  
  
"Yeah. But what about my helmet?" She pictured him waving it off indifferently.  
  
"Also untraceable. The only think we haven't gotten around to modifying are the guns." Holly pouted lightly. Damn him.  
  
"Please tell me no one's home," she pleaded with him.  
  
"Well, I could, but then you'd probably bump into one of the Mud Men in there. Then you'd yell at me and hate me." Holly frown.  
  
"So...how many?" Foaly snorted.  
  
"How am I to know? You're the one controlling the camera."  
  
"Right. X-Ray, heat sensors." The camera revealed the house to them. Large. Almost empty.  
  
"Butler is there. You won't need to worry about him. Artemis's parents...No sign of Arty." Holly sighed. "Ha! I knew you'd miss him!"  
  
"I don't miss him!"  
  
"Yes you do." His voice was teasing, as if a brother to a sister or a friend to a friend, but, back underground, Foaly's gentle features mirrored pain and hurt. She'd missed Artemis Fowl. To be truthful, he did too, but this was Holly. "Hey...Holly?"  
  
"Yeah?" she responded as she landed and removed her wings.  
  
"Did you...do you..." Foaly took a deep breath.  
  
"Do I what?" Holly asked, getting annoyed.  
  
"Do you love him?" the centaur asked quietly, his fingers gently resting on the controls before him. On the screens, Holly's heart rate had increased.  
  
"Wh-What?" she stuttered. Then she chuckled. "Stop messing around, Foaly. This is serious."  
  
"So am I." Foaly glared at the screen. "Holly, do you love him?"  
  
"I...I-" Holly took a breath and walked toward Fowl Manor. Foaly took his hands from the control panel and looked down. ...d'arvit. His left hoof wouldn't stop pawing at the ground.  
  
"Holly, answer the question."  
  
No answer.  
  
"Holly. Just answer me."  
  
No answer.  
  
"D'Arvit, Holly! Don't ignore me!"  
  
"Just drop it, Foaly. Leave me alone." The centaur looked up at the screen in surprise. She had never told him to leave her alone before...never told him to 'drop it'. Never made him beg for an answer... Fowl Manor was getting closer. Holly would be safe. She was shielded. She was running hot. She was brimming to the ear-tip with knowledge about the home. He would honor her wishes.  
  
"Yes ma'am." His arms lifted to the control panel once more. Just as our favorite commander decided to walk in.  
  
"Foaly, would you-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Root yelled, walking into the room. Foaly's fingers were skillfully flipping switches and tapping at keys. All at once, every screen showing Holly's progress obediently went off.  
  
"She told me to leave her alone. So I...so I did." Now, Julius Root was never one to care about emotions, as long as the job got done. But Foaly was never one to stop in the middle of a mission, either. The commander sighed and sat down near the horse-man.  
  
"So, you gonna tell me what's wrong?" For a minute, Foaly considered shaking his head with a 'no, sir', but then he thought better about it.  
  
"I think she's in love with Artemis." Root rolled his eyes.  
  
"So?"  
  
"It hurts because I...because I..." There his hoof went again. "Because I love her."  
  
~*~  
  
"Because I love her."  
  
Holly Short's breath caught in her chest. She knew Foaly had tried to obey her wishes and leave her alone...but he'd forgotten to turn off his mic in his emotional agony. She could hear everything they said. They just couldn't hear her... She looked around her and signaled one of the fairies.  
  
"Di, I need you to do something for me."  
  
~*~  
  
Foaly yawned and stretched. He had tried to get Holly's face out of his mind, but found he couldn't.  
  
/If you love someone, let them go. If they come back, they're yours forever. If they don't, it was never meant to be./  
  
Sigh. Since when did Root become such an expert on romance? Ah, whatever. It was time to turn in, anyway... He double-checked for bugs and booted up his security system. The fairies checking Fowl Manor had long since returned with their report.  
  
Holly was not among them.  
  
"Fine. Whatever. If she wants to stay with Artemis, that's just fine," he muttered angrily to no one.  
  
"If she doesn't, is that fine as well?" Foaly jumped and turned.  
  
"Holly?" The fairy smiled and crossed her arms.  
  
"Well, is that fine?" Foaly shrugged.  
  
"Why should I care?" Holly shook her head.  
  
"Because you forgot to turn your mic off. And you shouldn't call people names behind their backs. Especially since Artemis is the only one who actually understood what you're talking about." Foaly blinked.  
  
"So...you heard? What did you hear?"  
  
"Everything."  
  
"Oh..." He looked at her. "Then now's the time you laugh at me."  
  
"No," she responded, walking gently towards him. Leaning forward, she kissed him lightly on the cheek. Then she leaned further and whispered in his ear. "Astound me, Foaly."  
  
The centaur inhaled her scent and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"Can do, Miss Short." He kissed her feather-light on her lips. "Can do..."  
  
~Fin~ 


End file.
